Eh, do we REALLY need this flashy-looking new version of the classic book at all? Baz Luhrmann’s at it again? Oh, well then – that changes everything. My brain is still recovering from Moulin Rouge, though. I’m more of a classic musical and film guy, despite all the efforts to make these new movies look and sound “vintage.” Well, there’s NO doubt this sure looks amazing and will rake in the loot for a while. That said, sure, it’ll rope in the rubes who flock to theaters on those lonely weekends looking for some solace in the virtual arms of superstar hunky type actors (and who don’t know a penny’s worth of the plot) and those dragged-along spouses who trade in “Date Night” deals. That said, I think F. Scott Fitzgerald’s angry ghost would be rolling up yellowed, crumbling newspapers from the era or filling dirty socks with stones so he could do a day’s worth of REALLY old school drive-bys on those expensive movie sets. 

OK, it might be really good, but my eyebrow is still up on this one. Well, as long as it’s not “Based on a True Story” or “Inspired By Actual Events…” Those films almost always stink under closer scrutiny…